It seems like this discussion comes up every few months. Isn't there a FAQ we can point to, to short circuit these threads?
Perhaps there should also be a faq stating that those offering legal opinions should first of all be lawyers, and second of all provide an estimate of the legal costs if their approach is pursued. I say this not to dismiss anyone's opinion but to highlight there is no point in arguing points of law in this list. I doubt the consortium is going to take legal advice from this list or that something that has not already been considered will be revealed here and that legal costs are not inconsiderable and perhaps inestimable. Tex No AI was used authoring my text -----Original Message----- From: Unicode [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Doug Ewell via Unicode Sent: Friday, May 29, 2026 4:48 PM To: [email protected]; [email protected]; Vikki McDonough Subject: RE: Seeming hostility to conlang scripts? stasoid wrote: > Wow, this is a really sad situation. Tolkien Estate's greed already > stifles everything Tolkien-related with copyrights, but here, even on > solid legal ground, Unicode still doesn't want to deal with it because > of bad vibes. It is quite clear that writing systems cannot be > copyrighted, so Tolkien Estate's opinion shouldn't matter. I don’t think it has anything to do with “bad vibes.” In order for an organization like Unicode to take on this legal fight, the grounds would have to be 100.0 percent rock-solid, tested through multiple similar court cases; and even then, the legal costs of pursuing the case could be overwhelming. -- Doug Ewell, CC, ALB | Lakewood, CO, US | ewellic.org
